Even though South Korea is relatively far from Ukraine, it certainly does not mean that Samsung is not affected by the war there. It has a branch of the AI Research Center right in Kyiv. On February 25, the company immediately ordered its Korean employees working in Ukraine to immediately return to their homeland, or at least travel to neighboring countries.
Samsung R&D Institute UKRaine was founded in Kyiv in 2009. Key technologies are developed here that strengthen the technological development of the company with the aim of increasing the competitiveness of Samsung products in the field of security, artificial intelligence and augmented reality. Prominent experts work here, who also cooperate with local universities and schools, creating high-level educational activities, thereby the company tries to invest in the future of the IT sphere in Ukraine.
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Like Samsung, others have been preserved Korean companies, i.e. LG Electronics and POSCO. As for local employees, they should work from their homes, if at all possible. In general, Korean companies are not yet considering withdrawing their employees from Russia. It is still a big market for them, because as of last year, Russia is the 10th largest country that South Korea trades with. The share of total exports here is 1,6%, followed by imports at 2,8%.
Samsung, along with other South Korean companies LG and Hyundai Motor, also have their factories in Russia, which are said to continue production. Specifically, Samsung has here for TVs in Kaluga near Moscow. But the situation is developing every day, so it is possible that everything is already different and companies have closed their factories or will close soon, mainly due to the fall of the currency and possible sanctions from the EU.
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Those chips again
Major chipmakers said they expect limited supply chain disruptions from the Russia-Ukraine conflict for now, thanks to diversified supply. It could have a fundamental impact in the longer term. However, this crisis has already hit the shares of technology companies precisely in the fear of further disruption of the supply chain after last year's shortage of semiconductor chips.
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Ukraine supplies the US market with more than 90% of neon, which is important for lasers used in chip manufacturing. According to the company Techcet, which deals with market research, this gas, which is paradoxically a by-product of Russian steel production, is cleaned in Ukraine. Russia is then the source of 35% of the palladium used in the United States. This metal is used, among other things, in sensors and memories.
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However, since the annexation of Crimea in 2014 already caused certain concerns, most companies to a certain extent divided their suppliers in such a way that even if supplies from the countries in question were prevented, they could still operate, albeit to a limited extent.
